Cholesterol serum levels in violent and non-violent young male schizophrenic suicide attempters

Our prospective study used a case-control design to compare serum total cholesterol concentration, in young males with schizophrenia (DSM-IV) after non-violent (n - 13) suicide attempts and violent suicide attempts (n - 13), also included non-suicidal controls, also with diagnosis of schizophrenia (n - 13). Patients with a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and with cholesterol-lowering therapy were excluded. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether men after a violent suicide attempts have different serum cholesterol concentrations than those who attempted suicide by non-violent methods. Using the Scheffé test, a significant difference in serum cholesterol (p=0.01) was revealed between the group of violent and non-violent suicide attempters and between the violent suicide attempters and the control group (p<0.01). Our findings suggest that low levels of cholesterol are associated with increased tendency for impulsive behavior and aggression and contribute to a more violent pattern of suicidal behavior.